by Tom Still
MADISON – There are no shortage of isolated spots in Wisconsin, and
Washington Island is high on the seclusion list. Located about seven
miles off the tip of Door County, where the waters of Green Bay meet
those of Lake Michigan, the 30-square-mile island is accessible by
boat, car ferry and two grassy landing strips.

But if you need broadband Internet service once you wind your way to
Washington Island, you can likely find it there.

Washington Island is home to Wisconsin’s first known example of
“broadband over power line” communications, which is technology that
can transmit high-speed Internet service over electrical power lines
to a full range of customers. It was installed through a deal between
IBM, a worldwide provider of information technology hardware, software
and business services, and the tiny Washington Island Electric Co-op.
The project is an example of how high-speed Internet can reach even
the hardest-to-reach places, economically and reliably, and link those
places to the global economy.

A recent presentation by Raymond Blair, IBM’s director of advanced
networks, to the Wisconsin Technology Council board of directors
underscored how changing technology – and help from the federal
stimulus bill – can bring broadband to parts of rural Wisconsin where
costs are otherwise too high.

“Broadband over power line technology can get people off dial-up
Internet access at a cost-effective rate,” said Blair, who discussed
how IBM is deploying the technology in states such as Alabama,
Indiana, Michigan and Virginia, as well as nations in Latin America,
eastern Europe, the Middle East and the Indian sub-continent.
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The technology has been around for a few years, but it typically
hasn’t been able to offer enough capacity at a low enough price to
beat traditional cable or phone service. The federal stimulus bill,
which includes $7.2 billion to bring broadband to rural America and
other hard-to-access places, may have changed that.

“It’s not enough to bring Internet service to everyone,” Blair said of
the federal stimulus dollars, “but it can make a dent. Yes, this
(stimulus bill) has accelerated the deployment of broadband.”

Blair said broadband-over-power-line technology makes the most
economic sense in the least populated places, where there might be a
dozen or so customers per mile of line. The service is slower than
what’s available through cable and phone, but it’s 10 times faster
than dial-up service.

A video produced by IBM noted that Washington Island Electric Co-op
has 238 broadband subscribers plus the island’s public buildings. It
quoted one island resident, a business consultant, who said his new
broadband connection “allows me to live and work in the same place.”

Blair noted that small electric cooperatives such as the Washington
Island co-op serve 12 percent of the nation’s population but hold 45
percent of its power lines, making them natural partners for a
broadband service. It’s a way to provide what used to be “nice to
have” Internet service to parts of rural Wisconsin where such
connections might now be in the “got to have” category for economic
development.

Meanwhile, other companies continue to provide new wireless solutions,
as well. AT&T announced last week it will add 50 cell sites in
Wisconsin this year and expand its 3G wireless broadband network. A
company spokesman said total capital investment by AT&T in Wisconsin
exceeded $1 billion in the past three years, and the latest plans are
designed to “build the broadband networks that will create jobs and
fuel economic growth” while helping AT&T’s customers.

Cost-effective broadband access is vital to the economic future of
rural Wisconsin, whether it’s on Washington Island or in small North
Woods communities. In today’s global economy, few places can afford to
be a communications island.